Like There's No Tomorrow

Although theories that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012, have been disputed by NASA, the Vatican and others, some believers think they can ride out the supposed apocalypse in Bugarach, France, or Sirince, Turkey.

Dec. 20, 2012 10:34 p.m. ET

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German tourists interacted with a man wearing a pre-Hispanic costume in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Dec. 18. About 1,000 self-described shamans, seers, stargazers, yogis, sufis and swamis have gathered about an hour and a half from the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza to usher in a 'new era.'
Pedro Pardo/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Rumor has it that a mountain, pictured Dec. 20 with the sun rising, in Bugarach, France, will be the sole place on earth to escape destruction. A giant unidentified flying object and aliens are said to be waiting underneath the mountain—ready to burst through and spirit people to safety.
Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images…

Pieter van der Meer, left, and his friend uncovered a lifeboat in a yard in Kootwijkerbroek, Netherlands, Dec. 19. The lifeboat supposedly can save about 35 people in the event of a global apocalypse.
Robin van Lonkhuijsen/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

People stopped at a gift stall in Sirince, Turkey, Dec. 20. The small village has been touted as the only place besides Bugarach that will escape doomsday. Shop owners had hoped to cash in, but it appeared as though more journalists had arrived in the village than tourists as of Thursday.
Osman Orsal/Reuters…

People performed a ceremony at the Cihuatán archeological site in Aguilares, north of San Salvador, El Salvador, Dec. 18. Mayans measured time in 394-year periods known as baktuns. The 13th baktun ends around Dec. 21; and 13 is considered a sacred number for the Maya.
Jose Cabezas/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Bottles of wine with labels reading 'the end of the world' were displayed for sale in Sirince, which is known for its wines, on Dec. 20.
Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Shamans performed a purification ritual, during celebrations for the coming end of baktun and the start of the new era, at a Mayan site in Guatemala City on Dec. 18.
Johan Ordonez/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

An activist of the Internet Party of Ukraine wore a 'Star Wars' Imperial Stormtrooper outfit to distribute toilet paper, canned food, other provisions and 'tickets' for passage on a spacecraft to passersby in Kiev, Ukraine, Dec. 20, ahead of 'doomsday.'
Sergei Supinsky/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Dutch artist Stefano Ariu put the finishing touches on his painting of the mountain in Bugarach on Dec. 20.
Marko Drobnjakovic/Associated Press…

A man drank homemade brandy at Rtanj Mountain in Serbia on Dec. 20. Locals say the mountain once swallowed a sorcerer, who will be released on doomsday in a ball of fire. The inside of the mountain will then open up, becoming a hiding place, as the sorcerer goes on to destroy the rest of the world.
Marko Djurica/Reuters…

A woman viewed a depiction of the Mayan calendar at a planetarium in Lichtenstein, Germany, Dec. 19.
Hendrik Schmidt/European Pressphoto Agency…

In Bugarach, authorities have closed off access to the village and mountain. Extra police officers have been called in to keep the peace.
Eric Cabanis/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

A television cameraman shot video of the mountain in Bugarach on Dec. 20. At last count, some 250 journalists were accredited for the much-anticipated event—outnumbering the 200 or so locals.
Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images…